Astral Points
Astral Points, or AP, are the points used to level your character in SA. Leveling up a character increases the power of their Blessing, earns rewards from their rank or Talent, allows them to adopt Familiars, and unlocks character slots for you! AP is tracked per-character, not per-user. Whenever you earn AP, you must decide which of your characters will receive it! AP is counted on your character's Astral Tracker, an essential piece of SA gameplay that is submitted at the same time as your character. Keeping an updated AP Tracker allows you to claim your level rewards, outlined below! AP cannot be given away or transferred to other members. Earning AP You earn AP by completing and uploading art, roleplays, literature, memes and checkpoints featuring your character (or other SA characters / NPCs). Every SA character you include in your work earns AP, and the points can be given to any of your characters, no matter which characters are featured in the work. You do not earn AP for drawing / writing characters who are not yet in the group. NPCs earn points in three instances: when they are an official Group NPC, when they are connected to your own accepted character, and "random" horses in the background of comics/scenes/etc who are unlikely to be seen again. You may draw your SA characters as humans for AP. All human art, RP, and literature must still be set in the SA world, but you are allowed to "swap" your character's equine body for a human. Non-equine animals featured in artwork- such as familiars, wildlife, livestock, etc- can also earn AP! They follow the same rules as SA character earnings (fullbody, headshot, shading, etc) Item specific notes All armor, weapons and outfits need to be purchased for a character to be depicted with those items. If a character does not own the items pictured, the artwork can not be accepted into the group until those items have been purchased. The one exception to this is made for the chapter, where characters in conflict plots are granted temporary use of one weapon. Events, memes and other occasions that necessitate an outfit or item allow them to be drawn even if not owned, although no additional AP will be given for said items. This includes things like Faction meme, Halloween event, items the character handled during chapter etc. You are allowed to draw someone else’s character wearing or using items they do not own for purposes such as commissions or background characters in artwork. No additional AP will be granted for drawing these unowned props and outfits. Leniency is applied to the characters using “tools of trade” in a clear working situation. Tools of the trade are just that, tools necessary to completing work in a character's field. (ie: a healer using medical instruments, medicines, and herbs / a master of papercraft folding stacks of papers into fascinating designs/ a woodworker using woodworking tools/ a painter using a paintbrush.) These are one off items that are used to enhance a piece of art or literature and may only be depicted while a character is working in said field. These items may not hold any significance, nor may they be used as any kind of outfit or accessory. These items are not eligible for AP rewards. Conclusion: If it's your character, you must own all items you wish to depict unless outlined otherwise above to have it accepted into the group. If it's someone else’s character, you’re free to submit it even if items aren’t owned, but you won’t receive additional AP for them. SA Stock Policy PLEASE BE AWARE '''of one very important rule: Starborn Alignment takes the rights of all artists very seriously, including the rights of photographers. Referencing is a great tool and we support it enthusiastically - '''however, we expect our members to always use stock photography, or photography that is under a creative commons license, meaning the photographer has deemed it acceptable to create derivative works of their photos. Deviantart stock, sites like freeimages.com, and your own photographs are welcomed resources. We do not, under any circumstances, accept art that is referenced from non-stock photos taken off google, pinterest, instagram, or photos of breyer horse models. It is art theft, and we will treat it with the severity of art theft. Application Scoring: The written portion of a character application is worth 5AP. Any art you create for your app is scored to the regular Visual Art guidelines below. Visual Art Scoring: Visual Art guidelines apply identically to digital & traditional drawings and paintings, pixel art, photomanipulation, animation, and comics. Click here to view an illustrated Visual Art Scoring Guide. Visual Art Base Values * +1 Headshot: Minimum is a head/face. Maximum is a head, neck and partial shoulder/chest. * +2 Partial body: Minimum is a head, neck, and most of a barrel or two partial legs. Maximum is a head, neck, and barrel with 4 partial legs. * +3 Fullbody: Entire body is contained in the canvas. Can exclude wings, parts of long tails, parts of fins, or hooves. (meaning you can show where feet, fins, etc attach, but are allowed to crop them out) * +1 Quick: A quick drawing that lacks significant detail or rendering. Chibis, doodles, cartoons, etc apply for this. Must be complete fullbody, depicting entire character. Must be fully colored. Cannot receive shading points or bonuses. Visual Art Background Values * +1 Partial Background: a background that does not fill the whole canvas. May be a hand-drawn design behind a fullbody, or a floating circle of land, etc. Must be fully drawn, not a gradient, premade pattern, or premade brush. Simple one-color backgrounds do not earn points. Blurry, abstract, or unclear backgrounds do not earn points. * +3 Full Background: A background that fills the entire canvas. Should have a distinguishable foreground, background, and light source. Background must have distinguishable objects, landscapes, or architecture. Simple "horizon lines", and blurry, abstract, or unclear do not earn points. * +5 Scenic Background: An exceptionally detailed background that fills the entire canvas. Has a distinguishable foreground, background, and midground with obvious light source. Extreme detail is shown in rendering and shading every visible object. The background seems to be the focus of the drawing. Visual Art Bonus Values * Shading: +1 for headshot, +2 for partial, +3 for fullbody. Shading must have discernible light source, and obvious change in value or hue from highlight to shadow. Simple gradients over a drawing do not earn points. * +1 Anatomical Bonus: Applied to fullbodies only. Counts for scales or fins covering 30% or more of the body, wings, or hippocampus water forms. Entire design (both wings, entire water form, etc) must be visible. Bonus can be applied multiple times to the same character (for hybrids with wings and high-coverage scales, etc). ** NEW: Fully visible wings may receive this bonus on a partial body. * +1 Weapons / Props / Items: For detailed held items or worn accessories. Entire object must be visible. Does not receive additional shading bonus. Does not include small accessories like bandanas, eyepatches, goggles, earrings, etc. Applied per every visible large accessory. Character must own an item to receive AP for it. * +2 Outfits: Fullbodies only. Outfit must cover 30% of the body and contour realistically over the form (i.e. a body can't be covered by a flat rectangle blanket). Does not receive additional shading bonus. Character must own an item to receive AP for it. Applied per visible outfit. * Gift Bonus: +1 for headshot, quick drawing, or partial body. +2 for fullbody. Applied whenever you draw someone else's character, regardless of the presence of your own character. Cannot be applied to memes, collabs, or NPCs (excluding SA's gods). Applies to art trades, but not commissions. * +1 Same Character Bonus: Applies when the character receiving AP for an image is depicted in the image. Is not repeated for comics or "batch" uploads. Cannot be applied to memes or collabs. ** NEW: This bonus can be repeated / individually applied to sets of Checkpoints that are uploaded together. * +2 Roleplay-Inspired Bonus: Description must include at least two RP posts. Visual Art Special Circumstances * Hyperrealism / Photorealism: 10 AP headshots / 15 AP partial body / 20 AP fullbody. Must be shaded. * Repeated Lineart: Halved base points. Must be your own art. Coloring premade lineart does not earn points. * Full Animations and Comics: Every new frame / panel is scored as a separate artwork. Please include all animation frames in a sta.sh folder when you submit for scoring. Blinking, ear twitches, bouncing and snorting don’t count for animation points. * Photomanipulation: made from sourced, linked stock photos only! All photos must be obviously changed, and horses must be "grounded" in the background, with painted lighting and body prep. Simple cut/paste manips are not allowed. 1 BG photo = Partial BG. 2+ Blended background photos = Full BG. * Crafts / 3D Models / Sculptures: Scored on an individual basis. Submit to gallery to be assessed! Literature Literature must be uploaded to DeviantART (no sta.sh links or Google Drive files, etc). * 250 words: '1 AP * AP per word remains constant. Word counts on checkpoints, memes, etc will be updated accordingly. Literature Bonus Values * '+1 Same Character Bonus: Applies when the character receiving AP for a literature piece is depicted in the piece. Is not repeated for "batch" uploads. * +2 Development Bonus: Applied to pieces that further a character's personal arc or development. Can be positive or negative! Must have a sentence in the artist's comments detailing the development. Cannot be added to checkpoint submissions. Additional literature bonuses, etc, under review to be updated soon! Collaborations Includes artwork and roleplay threads. Count the AP of the collaboration piece like normal, and then calculate the correct percentage to get AP. Collabs can not receive gift or same character bonus. In the case of decimals/fractions, round up. Collabs should be submitted to the group by only one member. * Two person collab / roleplay: 80% of total AP * Three person collab / roleplay: 50% of total AP * Four person collab / roleplay: 30% of total AP Event Bonuses Starborn events, holidays, Chapters, Checkpoints, and other special circumstances can provide altered AP, or extra AP bonuses. Event bonuses will be outlined on each event's information page! These bonuses are specific to events, and cannot apply to other bonuses or as regular prompts. For instance, a Chapter piece could not double as a checkpoint, or receive a roleplay-inspired bonus. Events, chapters, and checkpoints cannot double as rank change images or official images. Checkpoints can receive a roleplay-inspired bonus, which is the only exception to this rule. Various Bonuses * Once a month a member can receive +1 FVR for a headshot of an incoming newbie character (of that month!) Alternativally write 250 words about why you like their character. * Monthly prompts can be found on the front page or in our directory. * To break the ice and get everyone comfortable with shared characters, once a month users can receive 50% extra AP for any image or literature piece that includes a group NPC (Ex: a piece worth 10 AP would collect 15 AP). Collaborations and roleplays count! NPC to which this applies will mention this in their description. All group NPC can be found in their respective herd folders, lore pages and the god's admin account. Tracking AP Before You Upload Include, at the top of your artist description: * The work's AP count * The character receiving the AP * The "breakdown" of the AP ("2 shaded fullbodies", "600 words" etc) A piece's AP count cannot be modified after being accepted into the group, unless the art itself is modified and the piece is resubmitted for approval. Modifying AP counts after acceptance is cheating and will result in a strike. Astral Tracker Every character should have an Astral Tracker uploaded to SA's gallery. You can find the blank AP Tracker templates here! The Tracker shows your character's current level and rank, as well as any Talents and Blessings they may have. The tracker also shows a characters Skill Points, which mark a character's personal strength and weaknesses. As you earn AP and assign it to your character, you should keep their Tracker updated. When you apply for Blessings, Talents, or any rewards, your Tracker will be checked and should be up to date! AP Allocation * Your AP total should be at the top left area of the tracker. This number indicates how much AP you have to distribute between your character's rank and Talents. * As you gain more AP and allocate it to your character's Rank and Talents, you unlock rewards. In the example on the left, the character has a total of 100 AP, split between her Rank and Mediator Talent. * AP is not distributed to the Blessing section in the top right of the Tracker. Blessings level up as your character levels up (details in the AP Levels section below). * As your character gains levels, mark the corresponding boxes-- with a word, drawing, or symbol. Skill Points * The six stats in the center of the Tracker help visualize your character's strengths and weaknesses. * Every character starts with 300 Skill Points that you can distribute through these stats as you see fit. Every 2 levels a character gains, they earn +10 Skill Points. In the example tracker, the level 5 character has a total of 320 skill points, distributed to her different stats. * Skill Points for each stat max out at 100. * If you have an item from the Magic Shop that gives a bonus to your character's Skill Points, you do not have to add that bonus to the Tracker, as it is only in effect while the item is in use in art or a roleplay. AP Levels Here are the perks your character receives as their AP level increases! Every time your character reaches an even-numbered level, they gain 10 Skill Points to any stat. * Level One (5 AP): Accessories can now be purchased from your herd's Shop! * Level Two (20 AP): '''Catalyst items can now be purchased from the Magic Shop! (+10 SP) * '''Level Three (40 AP): Receive a Talent for free! * Level Four (60 AP): First level Familiars can now be purchased from the Familiar Shop! (+10 SP) * Level Five (100 AP): First Blessing can be received, a choice of two selected by your patron Deity! You also unlock a new character slot! Mark the new slot on your Character Slot Tracker. * Level Six (140 AP): First Blessing can be chosen, if you don't have one! (+10 SP) * Level Seven (180 AP): First Blessing is now Level 2! * Level Eight (220 AP): Receive second Talent for free! Second level Familiars can now be purchased from the Familiar Shop! (+10 SP) * Level Nine (260 AP): First Blessing is now Level 3! * Level Ten (300 AP): Second Blessing can be received, a choice of two selected by your patron Deity! Holy Blessings can now be applied for.(+10 SP) * Level Eleven (340 AP): First Blessing is now maxed! * Level Twelve (380 AP): Third level Familiars can now be purchased from the Familiar Shop! (+10 SP) * Level Thirteen (420 AP): Second Blessing can be chosen, if you don't have one! * Level Fourteen (460 AP): ''' Second Blessing is now Level 2! (+10 SP) * '''Level Fifteen (500 AP): ''???'' (Send a Note with Character's AP Tracker to the group!) * Level Sixteen (540 AP): Second Familiar slot unlocked! Own two familiars at once! (+10 SP) * Level Seventeen (580 AP): Second Blessing is now Level 3! * Level Eighteen (620 AP): RP with your character's patron deity! Note the group for details! (+10 SP) * Level Nineteen (660 AP): Receive a special accessory from character's patron deity! * Level Twenty (700 AP): Second Blessing is now Maxed! (+10 SP) __NOEDITSECTION__ Category:Gameplay